Food Theory: Gordon Ramsay is NOT a Masterchef! (Kitchen Nightmares)

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Gordon Ramsay is NOT all he’s cracked up to be, loyal theorist! Some people are even calling him an idiot sandwich! That’s right; he may come off as all that in MasterChef, Hell’s Kitchen, and Kitchen Nightmares, but the reality is far different. In fact, some people are putting him second fiddle to other restaurateurs such as Guy Fieri. So who is actually the best chef in America? Join us for a HEATED culinary debate…
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#GordonRamsay #GordonRamsayCooking #GuyFieri #HellsKitchen #KitchenNightmares #HellsKitchenUSA #CelebrityChef #Cooking #CookingChannel #MasterChef #FoodNetwork #Theory #FoodTheory #Matpat

[@magicbknight8024]

Matt did you know the reason the show stopped wasn't ratings or anything like that, it was Gordon got tired of working on these locations and then seeing them fail.

[@alexiswagner5388]

And the bad food kept hurting his stomach

[@YurinanAcquiline]

I thought it was the food poisoning. 😂

[@shareye8783]

Both actually

[@SamuraiX6288]

And the fact that almost none of them kept his changes or listened to what he had to say.

[@nathangerrard9792]

he made the changes but a lot of time you can't change the mindset of the owners so they end up reverting to what it was previously but it makes Gordon look like a failure

[@LXG987]

You’ve got to take into account the REASON for the closure of the restaurants on kitchen nightmares. A lot of them simply didn’t follow Gordon’s advice, or weren’t able to handle the responsibility of maintaining what he created. That’s why most of them failed, you can’t blame that on Ramsay.

[@aaronthomas6155]

Most of them had unmanageable debt as well.....

[@Nobody-Cool]

​@@aaronthomas6155true

[@etherealboomslang991]

Most of the restaurants were in the gutter before being on the show as is. The ones that ultimately failed were never gonna make it cause of the management.

[@SaintFederalo]

To have any survive past COVID is an award itself

[@tarapiglet]

These restaurants were rarely owned by people with integrity or intelligence - just judging from how they kept their freezers. This is ground zero for food-borne illness. I'm sure a ton tried to sell after the renovations.

[@gamingdisastercayla]

I’m so glad you showed him outside his shows. He’s super sweet. On Hells Kitchen there’s been times he’s taken some aside, seeing how genuinely upset they were and talked to them about it. One of the contestants actually had a panic attack that was triggered by Gordon’s yelling and raised voice. Gordon took him and aside and asked him about and it and found out the guy has PTSD from his childhood. Gordon felt bad but made sure to watch his language and voice around him because of that.

[@helen6994]

wholesome

[@kingzach74]

Not to mention his penchant ability to be really awesome around kids.

[@joshuaharris3603]

Yes. Gordon is so nice. He’s just paid to be aggressive. He helps these people to the best of his abilities, has changed lives, and like you said, if people are genuinely upset he stops everything, takes them aside, and finds a way to make them feel better. I hate that he has such an aggressive reputation, despite being such a sweet guy, simply because him being aggressive sells.

[@u_mage]

Kitchen nightmares UK is such a different vibe too, he's portrayed as more reasonable and caring than upset at the owners, just shows the difference in the two entertainment industries

[@lazypaladin]

It's strong work ethic. Passionate for the job and want people to succeed and do well.

[@innerracoon3405]

I believe gordon ramsay himself said that he was powerless to help save some restaurants, either by coming too late and the buisness is doomed to fail or because the owner was too arrogant or too hard headed to take his advice. Sebastian from episode 1 I believe is a great example of this.

[@Razdasoldier]

There are a few KZbinrs that go to the restaurants from the show. I remember one saying that it's what you don't see on the show was the biggest help. He gave them an executive chef to help them redo the menu to blend their old and new menu while keeping standards up.

[@riffbw]

Correct. Some had so much debt that nothing was going to stop them closing. I believe a few said Gordon's assistance helped them have a couple good months to lessen the debt at the end, but many were too far gone.

[@arthurmartin4616]

So basically it's either reputation or stupidity that kills a restaurant. Got it.

[@sagenebula]

I'm not sure if it was Kitchen Nightmares or one of the other shows, but Amy's Baking Company is an infamous example of this too.

[@JKingSniper]

Nina!

[@TetraSky]

To be fair, we can't just blame Gordon for the failure of the restaurants after Kitchen Nightmare. If you look at reviews after the fact, MANY of them went back to their "old ways" (failing ways) due to their "regulars" asking for old garbage and the owners just being bad (people don't change that fast). Failure to keep up the service and what not.

[@group555_]

Lets also not forget that most restaurants just don't last forever. The show is so old most restaurants from that time are gone

[@Altmetalpunk]

Not to mention the restaurant industry is insanely unforgiving so if they're that close to failing they're probably going to fail.

[@madnessarcade7447]

Makes sense Ramsay is a pretty toxic person they probably changed it back because they hate his negativity If a kinder chef helped them things would be different

[@Pr0x1m1f1c4710n]

@@madnessarcade7447 or maybe they were just terrible business owners, who should never have opened.

[@akeladowns4899]

Thank you i was gonna say the same thing

[@theblackunicorn261]

Culinary student here. A 17-33% success rate on Kitchen Nightmares is incredibly impressive, especially when most restaurants Gordon tries to help almost immediately goes back to their old failing ways, with no regard for what he tries. Most of the restaurants that closes aren't even Gordon's fault, but due to debt, hygiene issues, poor ratings, etc. Pair that with the mental strain from certain places such as Dillon's or the infamous Amy's Baking Company, it must take a toll on Gordon. That's the main reason why Kitchen Nightmares stopped for a while. This theory is very biased, but I have a creeping suspicion that this entire episode is just to grant Mat's dream of being called a donkey by Gordon

[@Cheshire020]

Oh god I remember watching the Amy's Baking Company fiasco.

[@reaper1162]

This is the exact thing i was thinking, and you just happened to put it amazingly

[@laurenfaulk4637]

Prolly I ounno

[@patrickoxley581]

No. He wants to have the whole idiot sandwich routine done on him.

[@peacemaker63604]

There's also the fact that many of his recipes while good, might be too high class or need complicated preparation that the restaurant just can't provide consistently. Keep in mind that Ramsey, while undoubtedly being a MasterChef in his own right, he is most familiar with French or English dishes.

[@sharpstarr2491]

A restaurant near my house was on Kitchen Nightmares and my neighbors attended the opening. The restaurant did well in following Gordon. A few months later when the shopping center was bought out the owners ultimately had to sell the restaurant. It was initially a simple yet struggling mom and pop shop that Gordon took to the next level. It was a shame they only were able to keep it open for a few months after the episode aired because it was booming with customers even on it’s final days.

[@Razdasoldier]

That sucks, which episode?

[@rhubarbdedubarb4232]

dont tell him this guy wants to know where you live

[@Razdasoldier]

@rhubarbdedubarb4232 nah, there are KZbinrs that follow where the show went. Want to see what it was like after.

[@rhubarbdedubarb4232]

@@Razdasoldier thats the excuse a stalker would use

[@Razdasoldier]

@@rhubarbdedubarb4232 feel free to assume that, but who actually cares about random internet people.

[@atsukikuroe2613]

If Gordon Ramsay’s gonna roast Matpat back, it has to be based on the episode where he cooked a full course diner in his washing machine 😂

[@delanovanraalte3646]

matpat did what?

[@atsukikuroe2613]

@@delanovanraalte3646 its in a food theory episode titled "I cooked a three course meal in my laundry room"

[@alexrompen805]

Turning around 17 to 33% of failing restaurants, who are already drowning in debt, is pretty impressive actually. Also, comparing ANYONE to Ducasse is unfair, that man is a culinary genius , on a level all his own.

[@Nobody-Cool]

😂

[@calligraphy4244]

Definitely, I would expect most failing restaurant to have a tendency to continue failing even with help

[@halloseve3733]

A

[@lizziefirkey6385]

Plus, that doesn't even begin with the reason they closed down (and if the team didn't include the few where he wasn't able to finish). If they closed because they did great but simply couldn't pay off their debts fast enough? Hardy Gordon's fault. If they returned to old ways or didn't make efforts after he left? Yeah, you could argue that those could be included in those he failed to help.

[@burgerman101]

How are Joel Rubuchon’s restaurant success rates?

[@davidhealdjr.513]

If you've ever watched him work with kids, you know he's really a decent human being. He really loves sharing his craft and teaching the next generation.

[@kalmeira9502]

Really? Because the one episode I watched had the children screaming and acting like brats to imitate him. Guy shouldn't be allowed around children.

[@CmdrWinters]

@@kalmeira9502ah yes, you clearly have the moral high ground in all regards and know everything there is to know about everyone.

[@Jessepigman69]

@@kalmeira9502you couldn’t be more wrong.

[@makinyoumad9498]

Ok Gordon boot licker

[@TeddyBilly]

It's just that harsh treatment is the best kind of treatment for people to get better

[@jblen]

Its hard to blame Ramsay for failing restaurants. He spent like maybe a week or something with them, and showed them everything they were doing wrong, and gave the restaurants a huge boost in customers from the fact its now been on tv, but the state of the restaurants before were bad for a reason and without Ramsay constantly coming back it makes sense they return to their old ways

[@nfpurnama]

I don't think that Gordon "failed" at saving the restaurants. He genuinely tried but they had to stay consistent and we can't say for sure that they stuck to Gordon's teachings after he left.

[@jeffkadlec8264]

Interestingly, Ramsey claims he doesn't curse at his home. He doesn't let his kids hear cursing. So, the swear jar in his home, according to him, would be fairly empty.

[@aaronthomas6155]

What happens on the show is only a small fragment of what really takes place during his visits. The show is edited to be far more dramatic than his visits really are.

[@lilyfox313]

His daughter has a show in the UK, and he's completely different. Shows the real him rather than the persona, and he's a super nice person who loves his family and encourages his kids

[@aaronthomas6155]

@@lilyfox313 He's also very different in his show "Gordon Ramsey: Uncharted" which, unfortunately, only had 9 episodes.

[@TheBlargMarg]

I've also heard his really angry persona, is a persona. That he is actually a much nicer person in reality than what he shows on TV.

[@bettyboosh8384]

I believe this, before the kitchen nightmare shows he did, he was often on British TV and he was lovely. He got mad every now and again and people enjoyed it, but he was still his normal self most of the time. When he was offered to do the shows in America he was asked to dial up the anger and swearing, because that is what would appeal to the American audience, and they weren't wrong. The only issue is that some people believe that is how he is all the time.

[@allisont.6878]

If you look at when Gordon yells and swears, 99% of the time it's because people either lied to him about stuff, hid things from him, or claimed their abilities or food were better than they actually were. He can't stand arrogance or people thinking they can get away with BS-ing him. Folks who are honest about their mistakes and abilities (and are truly making an effort to improve) he either tries to help them do better, or if it's elimination time he sends them off with a bit of encouragement.

[@tultiden2040]

Gordon does what it takes to ensure the best chance at keeping any failing business successful, and he varies his approaches in doing so. He has to yell at the owners to get it through their thick skulls when they are being arrogant and stubborn.

[@bilistooka_go_boom]

If you look at him with professional chefs, he yells. Because they should know better. But the shows with home cooks or children he will rarely tell because they are learning and they taught themselves. They don't know any better and it's his chance to teach them the correct way. He's just super excited to show people why he loves cooking and keep people safe while doing it.

[@meanberryy]

It's a script and a character. You don't know the guy. Chill on the parasocial dude.

[@claireb210]

As everyone has said, there’s other reasons the restaurants on Kitchen Nightmares closed. I’d be interested to see the success rate if you also factored in the KN restaurants that sold their business after Ramsay left. Part of the “success” for that show was helping those owners out of their debt.

[@Kendraeardnek]

And also the ones that lasted until covid or the owner felt it was time to take a well-earned retirement. I just went and looked at the list, and there's at least five that, though they're closed now, they still lasted a significant amount of time before they closed for other reasons. I would count those as successes too.

[@broakroze]

Yknow, considering how MatPat had to literally bring the top chef in the world into it just to truly beat Gordon makes me think that he is, in fact, a master chef.

[@ryandowns6233]

Kitchen Nightmares proves that you can lead a horse to water, and you can explain to the horse that it will die if it doesn't drink water, and you can provide step-by-step instructions on how to drink water, and it will still die of dehydration. Gordon was a huge help to me in terms of teaching myself to cook, and I still love watching the youtube videos of him cooking with his family. It really shows how wholesome and nice he really is.

[@elainal6847]

Apply this scenario to teaching anything

[@MatthewTheWanderer]

Even when he's being nice, he's still annoying!

[@black_hand78]

@@MatthewTheWandereryou just don’t like his accent or his proper way of speaking lol.

[@hazeltree7738]

@@MatthewTheWanderer Seems like you share some traits then, and it's not the cooking skill

[@briannaherrington949]

Gordon only really shows his angry-sona for US television, and even then he's super gentle most of the time he airs on tv outside of Hell's Kitchen and Kitchen Nightmares

[@CosmicFever]

"angry-sona" 🗿

[@GayBearBro2]

If you haven't seen the Hell's Kitchen Raw episodes, he doesn't even start angry during dinner service. He builds up to that point over the course of a 3-hour service. It's extremely entertaining to see him mentor people and then they continue to make the same mistakes.

[@animegx45]

I always found his angry-sona to at least be partly genuine. There's no way a professional chef is going to be happy to see all of that wasted food.

[@10mm_is_best_mm]

I watch every show Ramsay does, and you’re correct. On most of his shows he’s very kind and positive with the contestants. His love of mentorship shines through in Master Chef, Next Level Chef, and many others. Even in Kitchen Nightmares, he’s almost never the aggressor- he’s responding to the arrogant, abusive chefs/owners who pick on their poor staff. You can always tell the people who actually follow Ramsay versus those who have only seen cherry-picked KZbin clips.

[@hallaloth3112]

@@10mm_is_best_mm That's actually why I like him. Even in Hell's Kitchen you can tell just by watching he's mentoring them on the side and doesn't get angry when he's actually teaching something. He genuinely respects a lot of the chefs he works with and just gets frustrated when the fish comes up raw for the fifth time in a row. How hard is it to temp fish at that level?

[@maurovandersmissen504]

Matpat: *Praises Gordon with his many Michelin stars, even in this exact video* Matpat a week later: *Says he's not a masterchef* Contradictory much lol

[@letsreadtextbook1687]

Gotta go for that clickbait title, baby!

[@crimsonsinner1454]

Well gordon does in fact have many Michelin stars.

[@delanovanraalte3646]

he even said that there are/were only 2 people with more michelin stars and he says he is bad at saving restaurants and keeping them open percentage wise but he also added in the end that through all the amount of restaurants he has he kept a large amount of them succesfull and high quality and that he truly mastered his craft

[@EmeraldEyesEsoteric]

@@letsreadtextbook1687 Exactly, I didn't care one way or the other, but seeing him getting called out sparked a bit of interest. I should've known better.

[@hawkatsea]

For me, the main draw to shows like "Kitchen Nightmares" and "Restaurant Impossible" are the warning signs for patrons, the behind-the-scenes of restaurants, of how filthy they can be. I feel like those shows made me a more discerning consumer and re-defined what I think of as a sketchy dive vs. a genuine hidden treasure.

[@mustang8206]

As someone who worked at over a dozen different restaurants I can tell you that they're all dirty

[@Whitesquall123]

In Gordon's defence, he's often called into these troubled restaurants when it's already too late, yet he still makes them over entirely. But while he may not help the specific restaurants he's called into help, his tips and advice can likely help others that are on a similar path downward.

[@coryheistad4935]

I would like to compare john taffers to Gordon ramsay in helping failing businesses i know john taffer is not a michilan chef but still

[@ttry1152]

Don't forget covid shut down most resteraunts

[@kylie7780]

That's why I love watching Master Chef Junior. He's super chill with the kids, and really inspires them to want to keep practicing and cooking.

[@thesymbiotenation.4552]

Indeed, cause in that one Gordon ain't dealing with dumb adults

[@Bea-a-deer]

Gordon is nice to children because children don’t lnwo better. He’s harder on adults because he presumes they are more capable than children - especially if they are competing on Master Chef.

[@allisont.6878]

@@Bea-a-deer he doesn't just presume they're more capable, they tell him they're capable and he asks them to put their cooking where their mouths are. From what I can tell watching his shows, the things he hates most are incompetence (especially paired with being unwilling to admit there's a problem and ask for help), arrogance, and getting lied to. The adults who work out best in his shows with the least swearing, are the ones who have enough humility to admit when they mess up or don't know stuff. Even if they end up getting booted for not doing well, he doesn't cuss them out the door. Kids (mostly) tend to not have all the humility squished out of them yet, and tend to not assume they know everything they need to.

[@CoopMoe]

I've met Gordon outside of a food setting and he was incredibly nice, incredibly supportive, humble, and there weren't any cameras rolling. Age doesn't really matter @allisont.6878 nails it in their comment. If the person on a show is trying to write checks their skills can't cash, that's when you see the meme worthy fiery language. Honesty and humility go a long way.

[@Bisexualdragon4042]

😭 when he got down to the youngest level and tried helping her fix her mistake and calm down. My heart felt that

[@michaeltubb1135]

Like the other comments say, those "failures" were more the fault of the restaurants themselves. I'm honestly surprised mat didn't compare it to Robert Irvine's Kitchen Impossible. A similar premise to Gordan's show, but with bigger restrictions. I haven't researched it, but he has gone back to several locations that are doing very well. No idea what his success rate is and he doesn't have any stars, but would have been an interesting comparison.

[@partyanimal9382]

I was thinking about same thing too!!

[@sbthighlights7291]

Something else that makes this so impressive is he’s not just a “celebrity chef” who is a chef, but does some TV here and there. Bro created an entire TV empire while maintaining those locations

[@Enocia]

The main thing to take into account for how many of the restaurants that closed after Kitchen nightmares is if they actually took on his advice and stuck to it. The ones that did, succeeded. The ones that didn't and just went back to what they were doing before he can, folded. Some of them were too far gone from the get go, which is sad, but honestly, from what I've seen of people reporting on the restaurants that succeeded, they attribute it to Gordon actually helping them get a grasp on what was wrong and helping them get on track. Once he left, if a place just went right back to being over complicated, or lazy, or unclean, they closed.

[@MuzakMaker]

Something that really put Ramsay's TV persona in perspective for me? Take a look at how he interacts with people who are open to change, willing to learn, and nice. Then compare that to how he interacts with people who are set in their ways, think they know better than Ramsay and are arrogant. Ramsay is one of the nicest TV chefs when folks are in the former category but he matches that fire (and then plays it up for TV) of the latter category. That's why Kitchen Nightmares in the US is filled with fights, swearing and failing restaurants but Master Chef Junior is filled with hugs, smiles, and emotional swells in the music.

[@ZakanaHachihaCBC]

American TV. The British version is still angry and all that but not played up like on the American one from my recollection.

[@thesansthatasked]

2:52 Gordon: The freshest thing in this kitchen is that pigeon! Pigeon: Thank you Gordon.

[@J3ZU35]

Gabi Belle made a video on something similar to this topic and in her research she found about %70 of restaurants end up closing their doors after 5-10 years of operation (haven't seen the video in a while tho) so whether Gordon "helped" or not there was a high likely hood of them closing regardless. This includes those that were doing far better than the ones on kitchen nightmares.

[@mykeCA82]

roflmao, imagine taking anything she has to say seriously. Find another source.

[@sonicroachdoggjrraven3263]

​@@mykeCA82I've never seen this person's videos, what's wrong with her?

[@frankdobs]

Guy doesn't want to admit that restaurants are the one of the most volatile businesses @@sonicroachdoggjrraven3263

[@AndreJNick]

You also forget that most of the restaurants on kitchen nightmares went right back to the old way of doing things the second he left, so it really is unfair to count those against him, since he's techniques were not being used

[@untitledmisou]

True. Most resturants are alrready doomed to fail before Gordon is even contacted. In general most resturants fail anyways too.

[@seannewman8542]

Not only that. When you consider the high failure rate of restaurants, in general, his success rate is pretty good.

[@DJBurns-jq8mn]

To be fair, most restaurants from Kitchen Nightmares closed due to owners not changing, simple business practices and C 19. I did the rough numbers and close to 3 out of 4 of the restaurants were successful until business decisions or outside sources got in the way. As for Gordon's own restaurants yeah, MatPat basically got it right.

[@MrAssChapman]

Ramsay also achieved all of that restaurant success while dividing his time with all of his hit TV shows. The man is a beast.

[@ThinlyCut90]

At the end of the day, Gordon is just a dude that loves food, and loves to share that with the world as authentically as possible. I respect him a lot.

[@ChickenTrendy]

I think Matpat will just do anything to show up Ramsay at this point 😂

[@theokkali467]

@@IAmJustAPersonLol no.

[@DasherLV]

​​@@IAmJustAPersonLolbot dont listen

[@tacticlelemon]

yep

[@Desimus]

Ive seen this bot twice now

[@edkwon]

Who is MatPat

[@CrowAtNight]

Something MatPat missed was that the primary factor of most restaurants that closed came down to either: A) The restaurant owners ignoring Gordon’s advice and reverting back to their old ways shortly after filming wrapped, or B) COVID

[@Amanda-ex4sr]

A good portion of the owners just simply quit too. There were a good few that got the business steady after Gordon just to sell the restaurant or retire

[@Kumqis]

I agree, but didn't he account for covid?

[@CrowAtNight]

@@Kumqis For Ramsay's restaraunts, but he didn't mention the places he helped.

[@hallaloth3112]

Actually, it wasn't Covid, but the ecnomic crash around 2008-2010 and the struggle of the economy after. The few that made it after that went strong usually.

[@luodeligesi7238]

He didn't ignore it, that's why he compared them to Gordon's own record and showed that his numbers are higher than the industry average. The opening was just rage bait, but the conclusion is that Gordon is actually a very capable restauranteur in his own right. Therefore, it's obvious that the restaurants that fail from Kitchen Nightmares most likely did so due to factors outside of Gordon's control.

[@7temp]

Food theory idea: Best way to remove burn greese/food from pans when it's stuck on?

[@drewsmith4003]

Is it really shocking that failing restaurants, whether because of terrible management or terrible food, can’t be rehabbed in a week, especially when the same managers/owners/chefs stick around after the rescue week? Bar Rescue has a similar “success” rate.

[@KevinG3699]

You have completely skipped over how many restaurant owners decided it IGNORE his advice and changes and they closed due to that and the crippling debt they were already in.

[@BiggMo]

👍 exactly… many backslide into old habits… like a bad spouse after marriage counseling

[@anthonynguyen1289]

Are all the ones still open following his advice or did they just luck out without listening to it? I’m curious how the restaurants that stuck with the advice did

[@etherealboomslang991]

Yea inusually looks matpats vids but this one completely skips the blame the owners themselves should have and places it on Gordon like hes some miracle worker that can save any restaurant. The owners decided his advice wasn't worth it and dumped themselves an honestly good riddance to them.

[@axolirvin971]

​@@anthonynguyen1289According to a different commentor, the successful restaurants attributed their success to Ramsay's help

[@v.crowley]

Pretty sure the success rate of a Kitchen Nightmare restaurant depends on the owner... no matter how much help you give someone.. if they dont listen; nothing will change. Ramsey was not their infinite babysitter XD

[@TrixyTrixter]

Yup. And a large number of them were already in so much debt that it was just not possible for them to succeed really.

[@noneyabizz8337]

​@niklashg1 plus, so many go back to their ways as soon as he leaves.

[@RedoxRay123]

I mean I’d blame the restaurants not Gordon Personally watching the shows most owners were very stubborn and unstable and they probably ignored all Gordon’s advice when he left The man tried but not everyone listens the amount still open is an achievement I’d say

[@WorldinJeopardy]

When I went through and watched Kitchen Nightmares, I ad a list of "where are they now" for each restaurant to see what happened to them while I watched. It was pretty easy to tell which restaurants would fail even with his help. Owners hat had no idea what they were doing and who often reverted back to what they were doing after Ramsey visited were common among these restaurants. The fact that any succeeded after Ramsey's visits is an amazement in and of itself.

[@percyjackson386]

matpat forget one thing, that the to own and operate a restaurant is a thin line. as a person in the culinary field I must say, the fact he saved 5 out of 28 restaurant on the verage of going under is a great job. it shows how hard this field is to get in to and stay in. I must say comparing some one with 13 to someone with around 80 makes no cents, you compare them like thwy are equal but they are not just do better.

[@Freyalise50]

yeah, even comparing the 34 and 46 restaurants to his 80 seems like a bad comparison. Fieri's 46 are operating in a different sphere than Gordon's. Ducasse is closer in sphere, but has even less restaurants than Fieri. Add on that Ducasse keeping 59% of 34 restaurants open has to easier than keeping 59% of 80 open just due to sheer numbers.

[@douglasmarshall6949]

MatPat dismissed the Kitchen Nightmares thing as evidence, and acknowledged the lack of good comparisons

[@percyjackson386]

@@douglasmarshall6949 ya but the point still stands, matpat has never ran a restaurant and dose know how hard it is to run one.

[@balgeron]

I've often wondered how the chef's of all those restaurants ended up. The show isn't shy about telling you when one of his projects still fails (usually each season had an episode looking back on them a year later). But the failure is often on the part of the owners, and over the course of an episode he often breathes new skill or life into the dejected chefs who hate their jobs. It would be interesting to see how many of them went on to be successful elsewhere.

[@black_hand78]

Gordon has hired chefs he met on Hells Kitchen and Kitchen Nightmares to work at his restaurants after seeing their potential or if the restaurant they already worked at failed after the show.

[@epwolf4937]

I subscribed for more well thought and delicious theories. I hope Gordon sees this and immediately hops on a food theory about making the best grilled cheese or something.

[@jordantaylor2435]

Many people have alreay pointed out some great points here Matt and im gonna throw my voice in there as well. Many of these places were nearly beyond fixing when Chef showed up, he even has "Revisited" episodes where he heads back to places he helped. Many closed due to thier existing debts, others the owneres/cooks undid his changes and lost out, some closed due simply to the changing economy and not having enoguh business. Still others simply sold to new owners ,for example McCools, an Irish pub/restaurant he visted sold to new owners and the sons of the owner and founder stayed on as the bartender and head chef. Its true that many failed but id like to point this out. Few cooks and chefs are as dedicated to food as Chef Ramsey. Even fewer are willing to open as many restaurants as he is and risk failure. Chef is a seriously great chef that i have a ton of respect for. In short really Matt i think this is a time when the numbers tell an incomplete story. An interesting video to be sure but i dont think you dug deep enough.

[@kodabear1996]

I don't watch reality tv or cooking shows, but I did stumble across a Ramsay show that featured kids. Given his reputation I was surprised how kind he was to them. Video idea: fancy vs regular everyday food

[@shanel1714]

Gordon Ramsay is honestly one of the nicest people you'll ever meet.

[@supper-girl7405]

Probably master chef kids, he's very kind to them

[@luodeligesi7238]

Haven't seen this show, but I would assume he's much nicer to kids. The yelling thing is just a character for ratings, probably not how he is in real life. Yelling at kids would just be a trash move that nobody would like.

[@GaarasBFF0911]

I think he's outright said in an interview that the kids are still learning. They're not arrogant about their skills like the adults on his shows. They're there to learn, and let's be honest they still have time to grow. The adults go on the shows because they think they're the best chefs in the world. I'm sure there's been a few kid shown on the shows, but I saw a kid style episode on chefs kitchen. It was an adorable sight to see 😁👍

[@Jinnoth]

I remember one restaurant he visited he managed to get back on it's feet and the owner did follow gordan's influence however after a year since gordan's visit it was closed by the owner because the owner got tired of running the restaurant and wanted to do something else. Gordan is professional and I think some of the restaurants he visited he needed to yell at the owners to just get them back down to earth.

[@hawtshott7777]

At around 7:00 MatPat mentions the quote: "Giant viral shaped elephant" in the room which closed over 70,000 restaurants. But he fails to mention this when he is talking about Gordon's "success rate" and how many restaurants he saved that are still open today. I can imagine that the pandemic closed AT LEAST SOME of the saved restaurants + as someone else said: some of the restaurants reverted back to their old ways after Gordon left. So, it's not entirely Gordons fault.

[@piplup10203854]

1:16 That line gets me every time 🤣 I laugh so hard. The way his octave rises lol

[@KilllaTofu]

As most have stated, biggest reason the restaurants failed were not following Gordon's advice after he left. Another big factor was most of them had a sizeable debt already, once the show aired there would be a huge spike in popularity for that restaurant. Along with that spike, came entrepreneurs trying to capitalize on that popularity wave, making buy-out offers well above value to the current owners. With the owners in such a large debt from prior to the show, many times they were offers they couldn't say 'no' to as this was a easy way to escape their mistakes of owning the restaurant in the first place.

[@NedRigNerd]

Yes but you can't blame Ramsey for continued poor business choices by the owners that led them to closing.

[@user-ts1kp5dj9q]

yeah, this was a BAD video

[@makinyoumad9498]

​@@user-ts1kp5dj9qIt wasn't, ya'll are just bootlicking

[@tel10_]

4:56 ROTTMNT REFERENCE??

[@Destiny-finders-cave]

Food theory suggestion: how long could you survive in a farm?

[@Ivangmer07]

You need to keep in mind that after Ramsey is out of the restaurant that has been rehabilitated that restaurant is on its own and their responsibility to use Ramsey’s teachings.

[@namless3654]

almost all of those kitchen nightmare restaurants had a 100% of closing. on top of that many went back to their own old ways. so taking that all into account, its actually impressive that that many stayed open

[@meghandaharwal5179]

Hey Matt! Could you do a video covering how different vessels (size of spoon, size of cup / glass) can affect the taste of different foods?

[@Possibly_Olivia]

That’s an interesting concept, I would imagine there would be some difference in flavor. Maybe more with savory or spicy flavors?

[@candlestone5397]

he kinda did cover that in the Champaine and Sprite episodes.

[@JEDonnert]

Yeah the grilled cheese gets me every time! A grilled cheese is a comfort food so you can't mess with that. Nobody's going to a restaurant and ordering grilled cheese for something different lol

[@Sitskier123]

Growing up in a tourist town I saw so many restaurants that were good quality and seemed successful close within a year seemingly just out of competition and property costs. The restaurant industry is definitely extremely volatile for many restaurants especially within their first year or two of business, but it is clear that an experienced restauranteur can truly make a difference. In that same small town one man opened about 8 very different restaurants with very different cuisine and all of them are very successful. He even set up a rewards program between them so if you are at any of his restaurants you got points towards gift cards and things. I was always impressed by his ability to keep so many places open and successful considering how many other places closed down so easily, but I guess that’s just how it is in the food world. Either way very impressive where Gordon has been able to find himself and what he has been able to do.

[@aaronthomas6155]

Some people just have a natural talent for running a business.

[@Izzytakamono]

Let’s not forget that almost all of those kitchen nightmares shops revert back to their old ways after Ramsay leaves

[@_peyton_geo_9580]

THE DONNIE REFERENCE. "short answer, no. Long answer, Nooooooooo."

[@jades1325]

I have always told people that my idol genuinely is Gordan. And I still stand by that to this day. When people would be like, "but he's so mean! How could someone like that be your idol?! Blah blah blah..." I always try to help them understand that he really is, actually just like you said MatPat, a stellar, stand up guy who is actually very kind and just has an extreme passion for food. The cursing angry man he shows on TV is just a character. All someone would have to do to realize that and actually be able to see that is just to go and watch "The F Word" where in some parts, (like the scenes from his home life to when he's cooking with the different women in each episode) you get to see how kind he actually is❤❤❤

[@PinkDappleleaf]

As a person who not only was a part of a family owned restauraunt, but watched its slow decline until it closed, Chef Ramsey's advice is always right, but a lot of reasons those restaurants fail is because of the owners. Big menus, terrible treatment of staff, decline in quality. If they aren't willing to fix it, then they fail Sometimes I even have a hard time watching Kitchen Nightmares (especially the episodes involving the kids of the owners working there too) since a lot of it gives me flashbacks 😅

[@Epicgamer-tn1mt]

Its nice to see such a big youtuber giving shoutouts to smaller chefs like gorden remsey or whatever his name is

[@snakesareadorable8515]

LOL, that’s hillarious, Gordon Ramsey isn’t a small chef, he’s famous!

[@sapomen1352]

​@@snakesareadorable8515Thats The joke genius

[@supermatcat24]

/r waosh@@sapomen1352

[@astro_99991]

​​@@snakesareadorable8515r/wooooosh

[@snakesareadorable8515]

@@sapomen1352 Oh, he seemed serious.

[@rebasack21]

there is almost always a followup at the end of every episode of kitchen nightmares where 6 months later someone goes back to see how the restaurants they poured work into are doing. yes many of them close by that point and its almost always because as soon as they left the owners went back to what they did before that was sinking the ship. there were a few where the owners started doing better at first but realized they couldnt handle the load, and closed. other cases the increased sales were just to little to late. none of this is ramseys fault. he asks at the start how close they are to closing, many are at the point they cant even pay their staff.

[@hawkatsea]

Love the stats in this one. EPISODE IDEAS: #1 - celebrity chef like Ramsay or other personalities makes a wager on their own food theory. #2 - I'd love to see theories on "eat the weeds/exotics/invaders" movements (e.g., lionfish, carp)

[@redscul129]

to be fair, in kitchen nightmares, gordon is giving the basic idea of how to function, is not up to him if the owners follow

[@victorespino5650]

Right I figured 5% would be successful Which is 2 to 3. He did about 10% lol Which is actually really good.

[@switchgear100]

@@victorespino5650 especially 20 years later. The fact any of the restaurants are still open two decades later is amazing given where they were when he arrived. Even without that having a business even a decade, especially a food business is already amazing numbers.

[@acutelilmint8035]

And the restaurants were failing because of the people. Not just the decor

[@redscul129]

@@switchgear100gordon is metaphorically giving away life savers, but well... pride comes firts

[@personexisting123]

Didn’t expect Matpat to try and start beef with Gordon Ramsay

[@vandettfnf]

pun intended

[@ithemooster]

for real ..

[@Whatchyadoinghere]

Is it well-done or rare?

[@izu1874]

And don't forget the lamb sauce!🫵

[@NeverStopRolling]

unfortunately if you had said "starting boeuf" it would have actually been funny, instead of your super low-rate ground-level entry.

[@CitanulLunatic]

For one, as some in the comments have already said, Gordon is indeed there to aid in bringing restaurants back from the brink, but in the end, it is in the hands of the owners whether they succeed or fail after that as Gordon did his job in showing them the means to succeed, and did so quite well, it isn't his fault that the restaurant owners went back to their failing ways, or that uncontrollable elements entered the picture and pushed the business to fail and close.

[@heatherlowry754]

The F word series is like a mosaic of all food shows: competitions, demos, and where does your food come from. Fantastic & worth watching

[@MillennialHippie]

KEEP my chef's NAME out your FLUFFIN' MOUTH! 🤬😂

[@StayArmy-bc7bf]

💀

[@danielthompson3397]

😂😂😂

[@realmdarkness]

My favorite episode of any Kitchen Nightmares series was the Mama Cherri's restaurant. Gordon actually liked the food and it was clear that Cherri was passionate about improving. Plus, she's such a nice person and i watch her KZbin channel now and then

[@sonicroachdoggjrraven3263]

Most of those restaurants closed because the owners were hard headed and idiotic. At the end of the day he can help them and try to guide and influence them for a few days, but they are so stubborn they just go back to their old failing ways. It's really, really not Gordon's fault.

[@clasherking4528]

I used to watch reruns of the American kitchen nightmares at work on my meal break Gordon was so dedicated to testing the restaurants before he stepped in he ate food that made him rush to the bathroom and throw up ( granted that might have been for dramatic effect but still) and through it all when Gordon set out to help a restaurant, he stayed on through the whole process even when the owners or the staff were... "Stubborn" to say the least (what I'm getting at is that there were very few times that Gordon deemed a restaurant "unsalvageable" and had to walk out on them) and he didn't just show up make some changes and leave, he came back after giving the restaurants a full year to try and do things the way he taught them to (I still feel he could have given them some amount of money to help them stay on the right track, most of the restaurants Gordon goes too are deep in debt and barley able to afford to function as they are, sure changing the food and decor will bring people in but unfortunately they still probably won't make enough to repay their debts and keep up with Gordons new standards)

[@dawnskgardner3290]

To be fair, that guy in the opening part who said the salad wasn't microwaved wasn't wrong... he answered the question

[@Little_SeaHorse]

The restaurants that closed didnt keep up with his advice and went back to the old ways. He stopped kitchen nightmares due to this.

[@thedeadzone6104]

There is a site that has all the information about these restaurants after the fact. If you check these you discover that some of these restaurants turned around and completely blew themselves apart. Many of them got into legal trouble afterwards or just didn't take his advice. I remember one in particular lost their license and didn't renew it. Then the owners were arrested. A different one got in trouble for serving to minors too. Better to have tried and failed then to be sitting in jail along side some of those clowns.

[@warmachine9846]

I have loved to watch Gordon Ramsay for years I have nothing but respect for the man and I love how you ended this episode with respect after tearing and down. You have a way of making things fun and lighthearted. Keep up the good work

[@nightingale8481]

*him Good comment though I conquer

[@Jeppe_P]

This one is a clear miss for me. These other chefs do not have 3 tv shows to focus on etc. Also there are many reasons to close down a restaurant, its a little too easy to base these kinds of things on just that statistic.

[@danepatterson8785]

Is mat not taking into account with how much debt most of these restaurants were in

[@KevinG3699]

Most of the restuarants also got rid of all his changes after he left and closed due to no traffic. Gordon started to get them business, but the owners hated the changes and lost their business.

[@group555_]

Nope, he isn't taking any key points into account. Even most successful restaurants aren't open for much over 10 years

[@Merennulli]

He's not actually critiquing Ramsay's help to those restaurants, that's the setup. It's already an (old) exposé style headline that the restaurants he helped didn't do well in general after he leaves. Matpat is just establishing that fact for those who aren't aware of the old headlines before deconstructing his own claim with the evidence that Ramsay actually did rather well in his own kitchens so the problem isn't Ramsay. And, yes, I know it's hard to realize that because of his dishonest framing of this as an attack on Ramsay before revealing that Ramsay actually does a decent job.

[@2ugly4danaturallook]

I worked in one of the restaurants in his show. It was an amazing restaurant that made a lot of money. After I left he came in to "fix it." All the problems he "fixed" were fake. Including the "chef" who he fired. And his "new chef", who had always been the chef.

[@The_Infamous_Boogyman]

4:19 I rarely do this, but I actually guess, out loud, 5 restaurants still open, and miraculously you said "5", so, off to start my day feeling like a boss....till I go work for my boss 😆

[@ratatoskrgaming4963]

As someone who lives near a location that was featured on Bar Rescue (still open, but was one of those locations that didn’t like the advice given to them) the Kitchen Nightmares success rate could be a similar situation, not to mention there may be restaurants from the show that he walked away from before any changes could actually be made, so Gordon can’t entirely be to blame, especially with the success of his own restaurants

[@EdmundSnow98]

There was only 1 place he walked away from. Amy's Baking Company. It was a wild episode.

[@edgarmartinez7371]

1:11 I liked how Ramsay strained his vocal cords by saying this: "If you sauté scallops in a non-stick pan, they will not stick. That is why it is called FLOPPING NON-STEEEEEEEEEECK!"

[@enlightshadow4852]

This reminds me of another show, I can't remember the name of it but Kitchen Nightmares and this show have a LOT in common. The premise was that a really rich guy would be called into a business and he'd be introduced around and told how things operated. The point was to help struggling business owners become successful. Kitchen Nightmares is the exact same thing, just with restaurants. The reason I bring this up is because a lot of businesses in the show never made it past a year anyways either. The reason? Business owners failed to listen to reason and post-show, stopped with whatever changes - if they implemented them at all. And a lot of that reasoning was because stubborn business owners make really bad decisions, a LOT. So it doesn't surprise me that the success rate of bad restaurants on Kitchen Nightmares is exceptionally low. Because of previous experience and knowledge, I expected the response to be that only one business remained open when it was mentioned in the video, but five? It's sorta just expected from shows about bad businesses. General consensus is that they will remain with low success rates.

[@nicholewilde4750]

My husband went to one of the kitchen nightmares places and according to the locals, the owners only implemented Ramseys changes while he was there and immediately went back to their old habits and menu. His changes can’t help if the owners don’t use them.

[@Someguyfromtheinternet36]

You had a good run Matt,But if you call Gordon Ramsey a "Shamsy",then you better be prepared for a orbital strike of a swearfest.

[@unknownchoujin1436]

Ramsey is coming after Food Theory with the Lamb Sauce nuke.

[@kn5w]

Regarding the British series, you need to consider when it was filmed (nearly 20 years ago). We since had a double-dip recession and a global pandemic, so 5 out of 28 still open nearly two decades after filming is good going. The Priory, which was one of the more famous UK episodes, shut because the owners were catering for people based on a voucher campaign that brought in the old folks, but no new customers were biting. The one where he "liked the food" in Brighton shut despite everyone's best efforts because the rent was raised.

[@Theseekerofinfinite]

This is a good point. How many restaurants in general, let alone ones which were failing to start with, can you even expect to be still open after 20 years?

[@arandombard1197]

Considering that 100% of those businesses were heading towards failure, 18 is actually a miracle number. Considering how many of them were terribly run or in huge debt, there's only so much he can do to help. Beyond that, a lot of these places use the hype and refurbishment as an opportunity to sell off the business while they can. For Ramsey's restaurant empire, he definitely expanded too quickly and had too little direct oversight to be able to manage them effectively.

[@exonege]

I got covid recentlly and ive been staying home for a week so far, and managed to rewatched every food theory episode lol

[@Ajz092]

Matpat trying to start beef with Gordon Ramsey. lol It's like bringing a $10 steak grilled up by dad vs a perfectly executed Filet Mignon by one of the best chefs in the entire world. Honestly, I think Matpat just wants to be called a Donut by the man himself.

[@moistsquish]

Don't we all tho?

[@ur_localdumblonde]

well, he saved 13 restaurants that were doomed to fail.

[@FinnManusia]

It will be interesting if you do comparison between Kitchen Nighmares vs Restaurant: Impossible by chef Robert Irvine(Also fun fact, his shows title will have R and I in the beginning just like his name). Since Kitchen Nighmares not doing any seasons probably from Gordon got food poisoning from the restaurants he visited, Restaurant: Impossible is available even has revisiting the restaurants and have special season on post-pandemic. Both shows has similar formula but Restaurant: Impossible specialty is they are showing the process the restaurants transforming which in Kitchen Nighmares there are no transforming scene and do it like in a day. I want to know the success rate between two shows on transforming restaurants and also in their real life restaurants too.

[@emiliaholmberg3320]

Don't forget that Gordon is the master of creative insults as well as an amazing chef.

[@Bombsuprise]

The only thing in the restaurant business that's harder than being unpopular is being suddenly popular. I've seen a lot of businesses fail simply because they weren't prepared for the workload and supply chain pressure that comes from being in demand. So Gordon was both saving the restaurants but also sort of cursing them.

[@Lucifer_png]

Also a lot of the restaurant owners tended to revert back the changes and do what they used to do before the shows and that resulted them in closing down. A lot of places also sold their locations so they could pay off their debts, so it's not all Gordon's fault. Saw some articles where apparently the restaurant owners even sued the KN team after they left for breaking things while they were filming so they could make some money off of them.

[@TreantmonksTemple]

"He didn't get to where he is by screaming into a camera" Yes he did, whether it's geniune or a character, it draws viewers.

[@mrrolandlawrence]

i lot of my friends were chefs in london back in the day. some having worked with him. what i heard was that many of the businesses in the uk sold up when to air as the owners realised they were not up to the challenge of running a restaurant. what is your criteria for "business still open"? if the owners sell up & the business is rebranded / absorbed as part of a chain, is it dead even if the location is still going? not sure the locations still open is a good one too. ramsey is not having the same business model or strategy. if the location is not performing for a while it gets closed. his tolerance for dead locations may be less than the others mentioned. he does not rob peter to pay paul as the saying goes. anyway rambling over. great video :)

[@Zenovirus777]

Fun fact this is just matpats plan to get called a donut by Ramsey

[@markusTegelane]

4:06 I actually guessed 5 and it was funny to hear MatPat say I'm probably wrong, while in reality I totally nailed it 😅

[@jaydaarnell0906]

Same 😭 I was like “idk keeping a restaurant afloat is hard, so probably 5”

[@riffbw]

Gordon's record with his own restaurants is actually really good. When you consider the sheer volume he's doing and that his menus are always very intricate, he's got a great empire going. Flay has so few restaurants it's easy for him to dedicate the time to them and keep them on track. Gordon doesn't and he's contending with an insane TV schedule and working on two continents. Fieri's food is awesome, but it's elevated bar food in most cases. It takes skill to make, but nowhere near the level of what Gordon's food takes. Plus the price points are better and his food has more widespread appeal. It's easy to see why he's able to keep so many open. Are you really going to put trash can nachos up against seared scallops as a signature appetizer? I think you failed to mention how many restaurants Ducasse has. It's only 34. So again, we're talking volume. On top of that, he's sticking to high end fine dining as a premier destination spot for his guests. He's impressive for sure, but if that's what it takes to beat Gordon he's the winner. But he's not doing all the TV time Gordon is so I'm sure if Gordon scaled it back on the numbers and dedicated 100% of his working life to making his restaurants successful, he'd be seeing similar success. So no matter how you slice it, Gordon is still top of the ladder. He's doing more volume with great success and he's opening restaurants from high end fine dining to specialized food for the masses like pizzerias. And he's keeping well more than the industry standard open while not being able to dedicate the same time as other full time chefs.

[@timstarlord3659]

In Russia, we have a copy of this show. It's called "На ножах", which is translated as "On knives", but I would localise it as "On thin ice". This show is being hosted by a Russian chef, who now mostly hosts TV shows for a channel called "Friday". He also hosted our "Hell's kitchen" equivalent until the channel I talked about above lost rights to its brand name (Now it's called Hell's Chef, pretty smart, changed only a single word). Anyway, more about the "На ножах". Basically, it's the same concept, but Konstantin Ivlev, the chef that visits the restaurants, always does a complete overhaul both the surroundings and the menu at the place. And there's also a KZbin channel that finds the restaurants after the show, just like you did. He tells everything about their story, from its foundation and its founders, to its appearance on TV, to shutting down. Yeah, most of the time those places became bad again, returned to the original concept/state, or fell into bankruptcy